Objective  Effects of Enterococcus faecium 8296 on the growth, nutrient digestibility, and serum biochemistry of weaned piglets were studied.

  Method  Sixty 21-day-old, weaned, Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire-crossbred piglets were randomly divided into 3 groups with 5 replicates per group and 4 piglets per replicate. The groups were fed with either a basal diet as control, the basal diet with 0.1% addition of E. faecium (EF1) or the basal diet with 0.3% addition of E. faecium (EF2) for 30 d. Growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, and serum biochemical indices of the piglets during the testing period were determined for analysis.

  Result  ① The piglets in the EF1 group had a significant increase on the average daily weight gain (ADG) (P＜0.05) and a significant reduction on the feed to gain (F/G) ratio (P＜0.05) over control. The piglets in EF2 increased significantly on ADG (P＜0.01) and on average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P＜0.05), while decreased significantly on F/G (P＜0.01) as compared to control. ② The apparent digestibility on ether extract (EE) and calcium (Ca) of the EF2 piglets was significantly higher than control (P＜0.05), and that on phosphorus (P) extremely significantly higher than control (P＜0.01). ③ The aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity in serum of the EF1 piglets was significantly lower than that of control (P＜0.01), but the serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) content was significantly higher than that of control (P＜0.05). The EF2 piglets had the serum globulin (GLO) , P and IgG significantly (P＜0.05) and AST activity extremely significantly lower than those of control (P＜0.01). The serum triglycerides (TG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) of the EF2 piglets were significantly (P＜0.05) and the serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) was extremely significantly higher than those of control (P＜0.01).

  Conclusion  A diet supplemented with 0.3% of E. faecium 8296 appeared to significantly enhance the growth, nutrient digestibility, and immunity of the weaned piglets.